Archive for the 'Crochet' Category

There’s still just over a week to go before Halloween, so there’s just time to create a zombie grave or two to set the mood. So get out your crochet hooks and head over to visit Croshame because that’s where you’ll find this awesome free pattern to bump some gooses in your own home.

Of course, I tend to think of it as Buffy’s grave.

Then again, that leads to the badness of seasons six and seven… and that really does give me the wig!

I grew up reading the adventures of Linus VanPelt and his friends in Peanuts. Actually, I lived in the same town Peanuts creator Charles Schulz lived in, visited his ice rink, and eventually grew up to sell him books at two different bookstores conveniently located close to said ice rink.

But that part is neither here nor there.

What is here and now and the whole point of this blog entry is Project Linus.

Some of you may have already heard of this wonderful organization, others not. But I urge you all to check out their website and get involved.

You see, Project Linus does just what one might expect: provide security blankets to children. The children range in age from infants to teens, and the reasons range from illness to disaster victims to homelessness and abuse. This is about helping children in crisis with something that tells them someone cares and wishes them well.

The project will only accept blankets made by hand from smoke-free environments and free of strongly scented detergents. They must also be free of easily swallowed (and thus choked upon) decorations such as buttons. But from there, it’s a free for all. Pick your size, your materials, your techniques, and do your best work.

If you are not in a position to make a blanket, the project will also happily accept donations of money and materials, too. And if you know a child in need, the website will direct you to the chapter to contact for help.

We all need a little security in life. Children facing chemotherapy or recovering from abuse need it even more.

I have no shame. Give me some Sarah Michelle Gellar staking vampires and I’m a happy camper. I can quote you chapter and verse and argue minutia for hours. I own action figures, including the rare and popular Bunny Suit Anya. I geek out if I get a glimpse of an actor who played third vampire on the left in an early episode. I even have autographed photos on my bedroom wall. No lie.

It’s the work of Etsy artist Skeeboo, and would set you back twenty smackers plus shipping, if you’re looking for the Halloween or Christmas… or just what the hey gift for the Buffy fanatic in your life. (Waves eagerly) She even makes an adorable tiny razorback, if you want Buffy to have a more convincing school mascot than the one Principal Flutie provided as inadvertent hyena food. What? I told you what a geek I am! Trust me on this.

Oh, and Skeeboo? If you ever feel like providing one, I do firmly believe that a Slayer needs her Watcher.

You know, just in case she ever needs to blow up a library or something.

Okay, I admit it: I have a thing for cute, soft, stuffed critters. The more bizarre they are, the better I like ‘em. At two when I was taken to choose my own teddy bear, I wouldn’t look at the bears… but I wouldn’t leave the store without the Steiff badger. Yes, I still have Diggy. And then there’s that Beanie Baby sloth. No, I did not buy during the Beanie Baby supercraze. I picked it up for a song a few years later at a garage sale. What? I may be obsessive, but I’m not crazy.

Be warned, Mr. Twistie, if we ever strike it rich, this is the sort of thing that will fill our abode to the proverbial gills. In return, I promise to be super supportive of your quest for a perfect recreation of George Harrison’s Sgt. Pepper uniform.

Check out these ridiculously adorable Dalek egg cozies! I mean, who wouldn’t want an alien killing machine with a plumber’s friend for a weapon keeping their soft boiled morning treat safe?

Okay, maybe there’s someone out there who wouldn’t, but I totally would. Geekery, crafts, and cooking all working together to make me happy. That’s what the world needs more of.

Anyway, the original, crocheted version was created by Cosy a Go Go (where some other fabulous crocheted sci-fi/fantasy inspired egg cozies live, so be sure to check them out).

Then Lyle’s Knit spread the word and did a knitted version, available here as a free PDF. Oh, and if you knit but not in the round… you might want to check out Anne’s variation, the flat knitted Dalek egg cozy, which is also a free PDF, but available here.

Daleks may never rule the universe as long as The Doctor keeps fighting them and winning, but at least your eggs will never get cold when you rush off in the TARDIS to help him out.

Then again, if your eggs do get cold, you can always have a Jelly Baby.

Once upon a time… or maybe twice, there was a blog called Monster Crochet. I was quite fond of this blog and the cool projects shown in it. But just shy of a year ago, the posts simply up and stopped.

Of course the fact that it hadn’t been updated in months and months didn’t stop me checking back periodically to see if there had been any change in status. There wasn’t. Over time I went back less and less, because there didn’t seem that much point.

It had been at least two months since I last bothered to look when I started going through old bookmarks this morning wondering what to snip out. I gave Monster Crochet one last chance.

Lo and behold, there was a new post! No, the blog wasn’t returning, per se. No more Monster Crochet, though the archive remains to amuse and enthuse us. No, this was new news. Blogger Regina Rioux formerly of Crochet Monster now has a new blog: Regina Rioux Have Yarn Will Travel. It’s only been in operation for a few days, but already there’s a super cool project, in the form of that travel wrap done in Tunisian crochet.

Regina, it’s so very nice to have you back! I can’t wait to see what you do next.

That would be the fellow on the right, for anyone still experiencing confusion.

The tentacles are definitely the right length and curliness for a Ood, but the green color and lack of translation ball doohickey (yes, that is a technical term, please do keep up) convince me the original artist meant that ski helmet to be Cthulu.

Still, I’m more than happy to open up the question to my readers. Is it Cthulu, or is it an Ood? What say you all?

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Disclaimer: Manolo the Shoeblogger is not Mr. Manolo Blahnik. This website is not affiliated in any way with Mr. Manolo Blahnik, any products bearing the federally registered trademarks MANOlO®, BlAHNIK® or MANOlO BlAHNIK®, or any licensee of said federally registered trademarks. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the author.